PITTSTON, PA (Feb. 2, 2024) - - King's College men's ice hockey team was defeated 9-0 by No. 3 Utica College this evening in the first of a two-game United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) series at Revolution Ice Centre. The Monarchs are now 8-12-0 overall and 7-8-0 in UCHC play. 

The Monarchs played tough with the Pioneers throughout the entirety of the first period and did not give up a goal until the eighteenth minute of play. King's continued to play strong defensively for the remainder of the period, including Matt Bidini who tallied 11 saves in the first 20 minutes, and only allowed Utica a 1-0 lead going into the second period. 

King's continued to work hard on defense and held off the Pioneers for the first six minutes of play of the second period. Utica scored its second goal of the evening at the 6:14 minute mark. Utica continued to build off this offensive momentum and scored four more goals before going into the final 20 minutes of the game with a 6-0 lead. 

The Monarchs held the Pioneers to just three goals in the third period, which ultimately led to Utica defeating King's 9-0. Despite the scoreboard, several Monarchs still showed strong performances. Mauro D'Alessandro, Alex Ray and Shota Kaneko all tallied one block for the Monarchs, while Ethan Hersant also picked up 15 face off wins. 

King's takes the ice again tomorrow, Feb.3, for game two of the UCHC series against Utica at 2 pm.